The present invention relates to a device that keeps tissues pushed up toward the retrieval point of a tissue box. When a tissue box is full accessing the tissue is easy, as a tissue typically sticks out through the top of the box. As one tissue is pulled out it automatically causes the next tissue in line to take its place. This process works well with a new or fairly full tissue box. However, when the tissue box is not full yet still has some tissues in it, as the protruding tissue is pulled out of the box the next tissue does not always take its place. This is because the frictional cling between the top tissue and its immediate follower is not enough to ensure that the following tissue extends the distance between the tissues in the box and the opening of the box to be exposed through the opening of the box. Instead, the other tissues often fall back to the bottom of the box. When this happens a user must reach into the box to retrieve a tissue for use. As the contents of the tissue box become less, this retrieval process occurs more and more until the box is fully depleted.
There are many problems with reaching into a tissue box to retrieve a tissue. For example, when a user needs a tissue in a hurry and must reach into the tissue box, the user usually extracts multiple tissues, which is wasteful. Also, since the user must reach into the box, the user may not retrieve a tissue as quickly as they need it. Also, reaching in through the top of the box causes the slit at the top of the box to become wider and bigger, which means the box cannot grip tissue very well and only exacerbates the problem of the tissue falling to the bottom of the box. In addition, reaching in for tissue is not convenient and can be time consuming, wasteful and difficult for anyone with grip, mobility or dexterity problems such as a person with arthritis of the hands or carpel tunnel. Furthermore, reaching into the tissue box can dirty and possibly contaminate the remaining tissues, as any germs or nasal discharge that may be on the hands gets transported into the tissue box where these germs can collect and even multiply.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for improved techniques for generally ensuring that tissues in a tissue box remain near the opening of the box.
Unless otherwise indicated illustrations in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale.